


Who (feat. Jim Kirk)

by wickedsingularity



Category: Star Trek: Alternate Original Series (Movies)
Genre: Alcohol, F/M, Fluff, Mild Language
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2018-02-16
Updated: 2018-03-03
Packaged: 2019-03-19 10:53:50
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 10
Words: 7,133
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/13702998
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/wickedsingularity/pseuds/wickedsingularity
Summary: A series of drabbles giving an exclusive look into the relationship between Jim Kirk and his significant other.





	1. Who said "I love you" first

That I was in love with Jim was no secret to me or anyone who saw the way I looked at him, according to my friends. It also didn't take me by surprise when I first came to the realisation. I had been ridiculously attracted to him from the very beginning, and in turn, I was in way too deep by the first date.

But I knew getting involved with Captain James T. Kirk was a risk. He had a reputation, but as I worked with him and got to know him a little better, I learned that his reputation was blown a bit out of proportion. That didn't make it less risky though. I could easily get my heart broken. But Jim was honest with me from the beginning.

_"You don't strike me as the friends with benefits type," Jim said. It was our second date, nothing fancy, but that was just the way I liked it. It was late and the mess hall was almost empty. Jim had secured a table in a corner, and it seemed like the few stragglers who dropped by understood what was going on and kept well away from us._

_"Maybe not," I replied. "But I haven't tried it. If the sex is good enough and the person annoying enough..."_

_Jim looked at me for a long moment, his head cocked slightly to the side and there was something in his eyes I couldn't name. Then he shook his head. "No. You're the forever type of woman."_

_"And you're not the forever type of man."_

_"No." He still looked at me with that thoughtful look, and it almost made me squirm in my seat. On which planet had the captain learned the skill of looking into your soul? "But I'm up for the challenge. With you."_

Months later, I was hopelessly, irrevocably, utterly in love with him. He was everything I had thought I wanted and everything I didn't know I wanted. I truly loved him. But I was not going to be the first to say it. He had never given me a reason to doubt the feelings he showed me or how devoted he was to our relationship, but I couldn't help being scared.

So, I kept it to myself.

Until a very ordinary Thursday evening. We were two days away from our next exploratory stop, engineering was prepared, and the day had been uneventful and purely routine. Like most evenings, I retired to Jim's cabin after dinner. I read, Jim did some paperwork, we snuggled, showered and climbed into bed.

I curled up against his side, one arm across his stomach, head near his heart. The relaxed beating and the sound of his breaths deepening calmed me enough to start drifting off. But seconds before I was lost to the world, Jim spoke.

"I love you." His voice was sleepy. The arm around my shoulders tightened slightly.

I froze for a moment. Then turned my head up to look at him, see if he was talking in his sleep, maybe it was the ship he confessed his love to. His eyes were indeed closed, but he opened them seconds later and then smiled at what I'm pretty sure was my shocked face.

"I love you," he repeated.

My shock morphed into a smile to match his and I stretched to give him a kiss. "I love you too, Jim."

"Oh, thank god."


	2. Who would have the other's picture as their phone background

"Come on, Jim! Stand still!"

"No! You are not taking a picture of me like this!"

I was jumping and trying to get my PADD back, but Jim was holding it just out of reach.

"Jimmy... Please..." I whined and laid my hands on his chest. "Everyone in the transporter room is gonna take a picture. Let your girlfriend take one too! Please..." I bat my eyelashes at him and did my best to look as adorable as I could.

"If they dare, I'll have them transferred to a garbage scow. Same goes for you. You'll get your PADD back when I'm off the ship."

"No sex for you when you come back." I pouted.

He leaned down and gave me a quick kiss. "Empty threats and you know it. You know you can't resist all of this." He stepped back and gestured to himself in that ridiculous garb he was wearing.

Jim was leading an away team to a planet whose civilisation had yet to reach a modern era. A couple of science officers had already been down there to observe in hiding, and it was such an interesting species that they had decided to go back, but to blend in this time. Clothes had been replicated for the whole team, and Jim – who had taken it upon himself to lead the mission – was now ready.

It was a garish yellow robe of some sort, it looked like witch's robe meets kilt, the very first original kilt style. It looked like it had been dyed with urine. On his head was a matching headband, tied in an elaborate knot on the right side. His shoes were made of a straw-like material.

"Yeah, real sexy, Captain."

"I got to go, sweetheart. Chekov will stop by with your PADD when we're gone."

"Fine." I pouted. "Be careful, baby."

"I will."

One last kiss and he swept out the door. Just before it slid shut, I heard him almost yell at whoever was in the hallway. "One picture and I'll have you on a garbage scow before you can say _cheese_!"

Giggling, I hurried to the computer on the desk and opened a new message to Chekov.

_Pavel. Jim is holding my PADD hostage, he'll give it to you before you transport him down. Please take a picture of him and send it to me. Please. I'll make it worth your while if he catches you._

_No need to ask. I was going to either way ;)_

I sat there waiting, drumming my fingers on the desk, for what felt like forever. I glanced at the clock every half minute, but it felt like every hour.

Twenty minutes later, the door chimed. "Computer, open the door."

"Lieutenant, your PADD." Chekov stood there, straight as a pole, hand outstretched with my PADD.

I jumped up and grabbed it, browsed to the pictures and found one of the entire away team on the transporter pads. Jim looked straight at the camera, a look of growing horror on his face.

"I took it at the same time as the beaming started."

"You're a saint, Pavel. Thank you!" I kissed his cheek and he left, looking a little flushed. Immediately I set the picture as my new background, cropping everyone else out, leaving Jim and his horrified face to replace my old background of us kissing.


	3. Who leaves notes written in fog on the bathroom mirror

I missed Jim. It was a busy time, both working overtime and barely seeing each other. Maybe we passed each other in the hallways rushing from one place to the other with no time for more than a hello, or we saw each other long enough for a quick kiss as one came home from their shift and the other started theirs.

It was taking its toll on me. I longed to feel his arms around me, his lips on mine for more than a chaste kiss. I needed to talk to him, talk about work, about life. I needed to snuggle with him as I slept because the fact was, that I had grown accustomed to sleeping next to him and just didn't sleep as well without him anymore. I just... I needed to be with him.

It looked like he was suffering from it too, with increasingly darker circles beneath his eyes, his hair was less perfect every time I saw him. Occasionally, Bones was trailing after him, a tricorder at the ready and a dark scowl. Jim needed a break. I needed a break.

Last night I had heard a rumour that we would be off the clock around the same time, and I hoped I would be able to have a few minutes with him before falling asleep. But I was so exhausted. I managed to undress but never made it to the shower. Was just going to lie on the bed for a few minutes, but the next thing I knew, an alarm woke me, and it was morning.

With a groan from needing much more rest, I flung my arm over to Jim's side. It was still cold and empty. So I let loose another groan, of sadness this time, and got up to shower, praying I would have more than one minute with my boyfriend soon, or I would go crazy.

The warm water felt too good on my tired body, and I struggled to stay awake. A stone cold raktajino would be needed after the shower, or I wouldn't be able to even walk to engineering without falling asleep.

I had been standing under the spray of water too long, fighting to stay awake and trying to remember Jim's schedule, if there would be time for some quality time coming up. But my brain didn't work, and I would have to check my PADD if I got two minutes to spare for a break during the day.

I turned off the water while praying for a quieter day, and got out of the shower. Something red on the mirror caught my eye, and I looked up. On the mirror in red lip liner and Jim's handwriting were the words:

_Observation deck 2 at 1900 hours. I made Scotty clear your schedule :*_

And beneath it, he had added with his finger in the fog:

_Love you!_

I hadn't even heard him come in! With the towel around me and water dripping on the floor, I poked my head out of the door. And there he was on the bed, asleep with his uniform on.


	4. Who initiates the first kiss

We hadn't even had our first proper date when it happened. We had both finished our Alpha shifts and ran into each other in the mess hall.

"Eat with me?" Jim asked, picking up two trays and handing one to me.

"Sure." I smiled, heart beating a bit faster at the hopeful look in his eyes. Then I turned to the replicators. "Bregit lung with grapok sauce, zilm'kach and an iced raktajino." The machine whirred to life.

"Klingon food?" Jim made a face of disgust.

"It's not as bad as you think," I defended, taking the plates of food and drink and setting it on my tray. "Some of their animals produce really good meat. But I'm not fond of their worms." I shuddered, thinking of the first time I had seen racht. I hadn't even tasted it.

"Well, I'll just settle for some old-fashioned pork and potatoes and black coffee with two sugar."

We brought our trays to an empty table and began eating. It was quiet for a few minutes, but – surprisingly – it wasn't an awkward silence.

Jim broke the quiet first. He reached for a large gulp of coffee, then leaned back in his chair and rested the fork on his plate. "How was engineering today?"

I swallowed a bite of the bregit lung and smiled. "Your ship is purring like a kitten."

Jim chuckled. "That's what I like to hear."

Conversation flowed easily after that until the food was gone and we were both nursing the rest of our coffee drinks. And that's when he asked the question I had been waiting since I saw him approach the mess hall from the opposite direction of me.

"You never gave me an answer, you know, Lieutenant." He was leaning back again and looked awfully cocky, one leg crossed over the other, the coffee cup in his hand resting on his knee.

"An answer to what, _Captain_?"

"You know perfectly well what."

"Remind me."

He put both feet back on the floor and leaned forward, looking at me too intensely. "I want to take you out on a date. And you've left me hanging for a week."

I raised one eyebrow. "Tell me why I should say yes."

He didn't even hesitate to answer. "Because you're beautiful. And you're smart. And we have chemistry. And you can cut the sexual tension between us with a knife. And I'd like to get to know you better, intimately." He leaned a tiny bit closer, wetting his lips. His eyes darted to mine briefly, before holding my gaze again. "And I'm the best kisser you'll ever meet."

The silence was palpable now. I stared into his too bright blue eyes, working hard to resist the temptation of looking at his lips. But when his tongue darted out to wet them again, my eyes were drawn to them. Perfectly pink, plump, wet – and smirking.

"Come closer," I whispered. He did, but I shook my head and beckoned him with my fingers. "Closer. Even closer. A little bit more." Jim was now off his chair, inches from my face, leaning across the table. I reached out with one hand and laid in on the back of his, then kissed him.

It was clear he had not expected it, but it was only half a second before he responded. Moving his lips across mine, tongue boldly darting out to deepen the kiss, but I didn't let him. He made a slight whine of complaint, and that's when I pulled away.

I smacked my lips a bit as if tasting something new and reached for the rest of my raktajino. I drank the rest of it and stood up. Jim had fallen back on his seat and looked slightly dazed. "Okay. I'll go on a date with you," I said, then took my tray, dropped it off at the trash bins and left the mess hall.


	5. Who kisses the other awake in the morning

An alarm blared and was timed perfectly with my dream, making me mistake it for red alert. I jolted awake, heaving for my breath, every limb stiff. For a few seconds, I stared disoriented around in the semi-dark room, my brain sluggishly trying to understand that the lack of a red blinking light meant that there was no danger. Muscle memory had me reaching for the bedside table and silenced the alarm.

As silence filled the room, I breathed easier. I glanced at the clock and it read 0602 hours. Then I turned to see if Jim was awake yet, but he was still sleeping peacefully. The sight of him made the last of the adrenaline rush out of my body and I turned to my side and inched closer to him, needing to be as near as possible. I sneaked one arm across his torso, the other was squashed between his arm and my chest. I pressed my lips to his upper arm for a second and then breathed him in.

My eyes fluttered and I didn't remember anything else until I jolted awake. I looked back at the clock again and it was now 0610. Jim was still asleep. We were going to be late for our shifts if we didn't get up soon. I nudged him gently, but he must be sleeping pretty deeply. So, I raised myself up on my elbow and looked down at him, smiling. Then I pressed my lips to his forehead. And his cheek. His eye. There was a low hum from him. I kissed his nose. His cheek again. His chin. Then his lips.

Jim made another humming sound, his nose scrunching up briefly. I realised my hair had fallen over his face and must be tickling him. I didn't push it away but kept peppering his face with kisses. Not even stopping when his eyes slowly opened and he spoke. "Sweetheart? It's too early to wake me up."

"No, it's not." Kiss. He closed his eyes again. "It's getting," kiss, "late." Kiss. "You need to," kiss, "wake up."

Suddenly, his arms shot up and his hands went to my face to hold me still. His eyes snapped open again, the pupils nearly swallowing the bright blue, but they shrank to shield themselves from the simulated daylight. "What time is it?" he asked.

"Around 0615." I grinned.

"Well then." He pulled my face to his and pressed his lips to mine quickly. "Rise and shine, beautiful," he whispered against my lips, and before I knew it, he had let me go and had rolled out of bed. I groaned, but the sight of his naked ass walking away from me had me up and running after him in seconds.


	6. Who asks who if they can join the other in the shower

I had never been so filthy in my entire life, I was sure. Not even that time when I was 7 and angry at my parents and rolled around in the mud, ruining all my clothes and forcing my mother to cut my hair short to get all the dirt and tangles out.

I had been crawling through Jeffries tubes all day, hauling tools and cables, doing some fine tuning on the weapon system. Dust was clinging to my sweaty skin, there was grease marks on my face and all over my uniform. One sleeve was torn off, thanks to me nearly falling down the ladder in one of the tubes when the ship had shaken slightly. My feet slipped, but my sleeve had caught on a loose screw at the top of the ladder, and the few seconds it took for the fabric to tear, gave me enough time to scramble and get my feet safely onto the step and my hands tight around the metal bars. The wrench had fallen, making a racket. But I was safe, and cursing whoever or whatever made the ship shake.

When my shift finally ended, I thought it best to dump off my tools, skip the mess hall and go straight back to my room to throw the uniform in the trash and have a good long scrub in the shower.

"Hey there, Lieutenant." As I walked out of the turbolift, I ran straight into Jim.

"Captain." I nodded.

"Rough day? What happened to your sleeve?"

"You have no idea. Who was responsible for the speedbump we ran over earlier today?"

"I think that might be my fault. I asked for a course correction and there was some anomaly."

"That's great! I can blame you for my ruined uniform."

"What happened?"

"Jeffries tube, ladder, speedbump, loose screw." We had reached my quarters and I punched in my code to open the door.

"Not my quarters today?" Jim followed me inside.

"Figured you didn't want all this filth in your shower. Besides, I need a new uniform. I have none clean left at your place."

"We ought to think about moving you into my place again, darling." He pushed my hands away as I reached for the zipper under my arm, and pulled it down.

"I am there most of the time." I felt my heart beat a tiny bit faster. We had talked about this before, but never really made a decision.

Jim pushed the dress uniform off my shoulders and I wiggled out of the arm. "You are. Though I'm sure you love to use your cabin as a gigantic walk-in-closet."

The uniform fell to the floor. "Walk-in-closets are good." Jim unhooked my bra, and that too fell off. "But it's too far away from the bedroom to be really useful."

"Can you live with sixty percent of my closet?" He planted a kiss on my shoulder, and I only just resisted the temptation of leaning back into him. Instead, I kicked off my boots, pulled off my socks, pushed my underwear down, and stepped out of them, leaving behind a pile of clothes on the floor.

"Possibly." I looked back at him over my shoulder. "Could you throw my uniform away and toss the rest in the hamper while I shower?"

His gaze was on my ass, but he nodded slowly. I walked into the bathroom, making sure to sway my hips a little bit more than usual.

I had just been in the shower for a couple of minutes, soaking my hair, when the door opened and Jim came in, naked. I stepped aside to let him in under the water and began shampooing my hair. He watched me as I did, and then we moved to switch places. He held out his hand for my shampoo.

"Didn't know you needed a shower? Haven't you just been sitting in your chair all day?"

"Don't be cheeky, I may have to punish you."


	7. Who surprises the other in the middle of the day at work with lunch

The sound of my communicator going off made me jump, and I bumped my head on a pipe.

"Bloody hell! Not now..." I ignored the ringing and kept trying to fit the circuit board into the slot. My communicator had gone off several times throughout the day, but I had ignored it. Scotty wanted me to improve the sensors, and we had picked up the new parts the other day, and today was the first opportunity I had to work on it.

The communicator had been quiet for about a minute before it started again. "No no no, I don't have time for you right now. Whatever it is, it can wait."

Finally, it seemed like whoever was bothering me gave up. I continued my work in peace, ignoring the growling of my stomach. It must be lunchtime, but I'll be damned if I don't get this done before I allow myself to eat.

"Oy! Lassie! Why aren't ya answering yer communicator?" Scotty marched over, his voice stern.

"Because I'm trying to get this done, but the bloody circuit board won't..." Grunt. "Fit."

"Wha' if it's something important?" There was something in his voice that made me pause, and slowly peek out from under the panel.

"Is it important?"

"Capt'n says there's something urgent for ya to attend to in his ready room."

I instantly felt calmer and went back inside the panel to try to force the circuit board in where I wanted it. "Tell the Captain I can attend to his boner later." I wouldn't say something like that to anyone, but I was comfortable enough with Scotty to dare it.

"Sorry, lassie. He asked me to pull rank on ya. He spouted something about regulations and Starfleet and _very, very urgent_." Scotty mimicked Jim's voice. "I'll finish up for ya."

I groaned but felt my heart beat a bit faster from nerves. There really must be something urgent then. What could I have done to make Starfleet want a meeting with me? I put the circuit board and tools down, wiggled my way free and stood up.

"Bit dusty there." Scotty brushed something off my shoulder. "Better look presentable."

"Yeah. Did he say what this was about?"

"Maybe. He yammered on about this and that, dinnae catch it all."

I just nodded and strode out of engineering. I reached the turbolift quickly. Thankfully, it was empty. "Bridge," I said, and leant back against the wall, a million thoughts racing through my head. I hadn't broken any regulations. Had I?

All too quickly, the turbolift came to a halt and the door slid open to reveal the bridge. "Permission to enter the bridge," I said.

Hikaru was in the captain's chair, and he swivelled around. "Granted. The captain is expecting you in his ready room."

"Thank you, Mr Sulu."

I walked as quickly as I could across the bridge without looking stressed. The door opened as soon as I pressed my thumb to the panel near the door. At first, I didn't see Jim. But as I walked further in, he was sitting on the couch just out of the view from anyone who may see inside from the bridge through the open door.

"Jim, what on earth...?"

The table was filled with food, two plates, one steaming cup of coffee and one cup of iced raktajino, judging by the condensation on outside of the cup.

"I've been trying to reach you all day," he said and stood up. He didn't look happy with me.

"That was you... I was finally able to start working on the sensors today and was kinda stuck inside a panel."

Jim walked slowly towards me, and even though he looked pissed, my heart started beating faster again, but not out of nerves this time. "You should still answer your communicator when your Captain calls you." He was right in front of me now, staring me down, eyes icy.

"I am sorry, sir. I will answer next time. What did you want?"

"You." His arms snuck around my waist, pulled me flush against his body and I squeaked. "For lunch."

"You want to have me for lunch, or do you want me to have lunch with you?"

He cocked his head and licked his lips. "Yes."


	8. Who was nervous and shy on the first date

I had agreed to go on a date with Captain James T. Kirk. My brain said no, but my heart screamed yes. And that kiss I had stolen in the mess hall the other day, was too good not to experience again.

On the morning after I had kissed him, he caught me in the hallway and told me he'd be outside my cabin at 1900 hours on Friday. I asked what he had planned, but he had just brushed the question off and told me to wear something nice but comfortable. He had looked very proud of himself when he walked away.

I was awfully curious, and as I stood in my small bathroom getting ready, I was fighting a storm of butterflies in my stomach. I was more nervous and excited than I thought I would be.

When 1900 hours finally arrived, I was dressed in a brand new pair of jeans and a red blouse. The door chimed almost on the second, and I couldn't help but wonder if Jim had been standing there, counting the seconds.

The doors slid open and there he stood, looking dashing in black trousers and a crisp white shirt, hair neatly combed and proof of Scotty's nickname for him. In his hands were three long-stemmed red roses. His blue eyes shone as they gave me the once-over.

"Hi," he breathed, offering me the roses.

"Hello, Captain. Roses? Thank you! I'm impressed." I gestured for him to come in so I could find a vase for the roses.

"Good. You look amazing, by the way."

"Thanks," I said, rummaging around in the cupboard under the replicator. "I feel a little underdressed compared to you though."

"You're not. You're perfect."

Holding an old forgotten empty bottle in my hands, I stand up and look at him. There was something in his voice and the way he looked at me that seemed a bit out of character from the Jim I knew. "Thanks," I replied. "Think this will do as a vase?"

"Saurian brandy bottle? That should do."

I filled it with water from the bathroom and then set the bottle and roses on the bedside table. "There. I'm ready to go."

Without a word, Jim held out his arm for me, and he guided me through the hallways, into the turbolift. "Observation deck 2," he told the lift, and it promptly sped off. The ride was spent in silence, and I tried my hardest not to fidget in the awkwardness, I was still holding onto his arm.

Just when I was about to burst out something just to end the quiet, the turbolift came to a halt. The doors opened to reveal a scene like from an old movie. There was a table by the window, a white cloth draped over it. A vase with another red rose stood in the middle, plates, cutlery and champagne flutes on each side. A smaller table was next to it with three silver cloches covering something that smelled delicious and a silver champagne bucket on it.

"Wow, Jim," I said, letting go of his arm and walking inside, taking it all in. The moment I stepped onto the deck, music began playing, a rocky classical piece.

"No no no! Computer, stop the music!" Jim exclaimed, hurrying into the room. "I requested _old_ classical music, not _classical_ music. Computer, play _old_ classical music." The same drumbeat and guitar riffs filled the air. "No, dammit! Computer, stop the music! I'm sorry."

"It's okay, we don't need music." I was a little amused by the fluster in Jim's voice and the way he seemed very stressed.

"No music. Have a seat." He walked over to one of the chairs and held it out for me. I sat and he made sure I was seated comfortably, before moving to the champagne cooler and grabbing the bottle. He began working the stopper, got a good grip, winked at me, and the cork snapped off, " _son of a bitch!_ ", sailed over my head – I ducked just in time, it bounced off the window and disappeared under one of the seats at the other end of the room. When I looked at Jim again, the champagne was pouring from the bottle, making a real mess on the floor.

I couldn't help it, I started laughing. Jim looked horrified, but I just couldn't stop. I apologised in between breaths, but my words weren't legible. Feeling bad, I managed to get my giggles under control. "I'm sorry for laughing," I said.

"There's still some left in here, I think." He held the bottle up to the light.

"Let's have it then." With slightly shaking hands, Jim divided what was left of the bubbly wine as equally as he could. Then he served the food, which he explained to be crab tortellini with some sauce Hikaru had recommended.

For the first few minutes of eating, the silence was back. I tried not to let it get to me, as we were both busy eating, but when I complimented him on the choice of food, it seemed to break the ice and conversation flowed as easily at it usually did between us. But there was something... _Something_ about the way he spoke that seemed unfamiliar to me. And his entire posture was stiff. I had known him and been attracted to him long enough to know when he wasn't being entirely himself.

When the time came for dessert, Jim stood up to lift the last cloche. "Shit. Fuck."

"What?" I stood up to get a better look, but he quickly put the cloche over the dish.

"Dessert has melted." He moved to sit down and again, and it looked like he wanted to melt too.

"Melted?"

"I replicated salty caramel ice cream. It has melted."

"We don't need dessert. Dinner was good, it was very good."

Jim didn't say anything. He just leaned his head back and ran his hand over his face and then through his hair, ruffling up the perfect look. He took two deep breaths, then looked at me. "I'm so sorry about all of this," he said. "I have to admit I've never done a date like this before."

"Dinner and dessert?"

"The wine and dine and roses and courting."

"You didn't have to do all this for me. I'd be happy with just a replicated burger somewhere fairly quiet where we could talk."

He nodded. "Duly noted. I've also never gone on a date with someone I knew as a friend first." He chuckled. "I can't believe I'm so nervous. And everything went wrong."

"You've been adorable though." I winked at him.

He smiled, then looked around at the room and seemed to be doing some quick thinking. "What about this? I call my yeoman to clean up my mess, and you and I go to the mess hall and replicate whatever we want for dessert? And just talk."

"Will you judge me if I request an unladylike sized sundae and a giant milkshake? And some chips?"

"Not at all. Though I might find myself more attracted to you." He grinned then, and stood and offered me his arm again, this time full of his signature confidence.


	9. Who kills/takes out the spiders

"Captain, there have been an incident in the arthropodology lab." Spock had just entered the bridge, and stood as calm as a statue with his hands behind his back and gazing at the view screen, quite the opposite of the storm of emotions that passed across Captain Kirk's face at the mention of the arthropodology lab.

"What do you mean _incident_?" Jim asked.

"One of the spider habitats have broken and the spiders are on the lose."

This caught the attention of a few of the other bridge officers.

"How could a habitat break?"

"It appears that the poison in the species with poisonous legs melts glass." Spock was still as calm and unaffected as if he was giving a weather report. "Lieutenant Tanager is currently rounding up the escaped spiders."

Jim was quiet for a long moment. Until he stood up, turned around, grabbed onto the back of the chair for support and looked at Spock. "Okay, Commander Spock. Let's see how much damage has been done."

* * *

"I need a shower," Jim muttered the moment he was out the door. He whipped out his comm and called for the bridge. "Mr Sulu, will you please take the conn? There is something I need to take care of."

" _Of course, Captain._ "

Jim flipped the lid shut and marched as quickly as he could without seeming panicked to his quarters, praying that no one would stop him on his way. He could practically feel ten million creatures crawling all over his skin.

Just as he came into the hallway where his quarters were, he saw that enthusiastic ensign that always cornered him to ask a bunch of questions at the other end of the hall. He sped up and just as the ensign was about to say hi, Jim hurriedly entered the code, waved at the ensign and slipped inside, exhaling in relief.

"Hello, Captain!" I looked up from my PADD. "You looked stressed. What's up?"

"Arthropodology accident." Jim began clawing at his gold shirt, trying to get it off, his breaths going shallow and fast.

"Jim, calm down, please," I said and hurried up off the couch. I grabbed his wrists and held them still. "Jim, look at me." When he didn't respond, I squeezed his wrists. " _Look at me._ "

He finally did.

"Breathe. Like this." I took a deep breath through my nose, and let it out through my mouth. "You're okay. Let me take your uniform off."

He nodded, eyes wide. Calmly, I reached down to unzip his pants so I could pull the black undershirt free. Then I grabbed the bottom of that and the gold uniform shirt and pulled.

"Arms up, Jim." He obeyed immediately, and I pulled the garment up. Then I knelt down and untied his boots, and now he lifted each foot on his own, letting me pull off his boots and socks. Then, to distract him a little, because in the corner of my eye I saw a spider crawling on the uniform shirt, I looked up at him through my lashes. So slowly, I reached for the hem of his pants, and pulled down. Then, his underwear, licking my lips while I did. I stood up. "Go take a shower, baby, and I'll get these clothes to laundry. Okay?"

"Okay."

I watched him disappear into the bathroom, and when I heard the water turn on, I quickly moved to find a glass and a plate. The spider was still crawling over his shirt, and I picked it up and shook it so the tiny black monster would fall to the floor. I crouched down and aimed with the glass, then put it on top of the creature. "Gotcha!" I slid the plate under the glass. "I think Lieutenant Tanager is looking for you, little buddy. Let's get you back to her."


	10. Who loudly proclaims their love when they're drunk

"Look a' her!" Jim slurred, half sitting, half hanging on the barstool. "Isn't she beautiful?" He pointed at me, his aim slightly off. "I can't believe she's still with me..."

The Enterprise was docked at Starbase Earhart to pick up a handful of new crew members, but some incident with their ride to the starbase had caused them to be delayed, and the crew of the Enterprise took the opportunity to unwind for a few days while waiting.

A few of us had gathered in mine and Jim's quarters on the Earhart, Scotty had brought his good scotch and Chekov had brought a couple of some obscure, age-old Russian bottles so thick with dust no one could read the labels. But judging by Jim's current condition, it was some good stuff.

"Ye bagged a good'ne, Cap'n Purrfuct 'air." Scotty slurred even worse than Jim and slapped his hand on Jim's head to ruffle that no longer perfect hair.

I felt myself blush as the two men stared at me, their gazes slightly cross-eyed and shifting back and forth, not able to focus.

Nyota and I were sitting at the other end of the room, a touch soberer than the two men. Chekov was asleep on the couch, Spock had left hours ago. Bones and Hikaru were attempting to play three-dimensional chess, but seeing as they were both tipsy, it didn't go so well.

Jim leant over the counter, staring dreamily at me. "I donnow what I did to desverve her. But imma marry her."

Nyota giggled and if I wasn't so busy trying to hide my blush, I would have punched her arm. I tried to ignore the two men, who got louder and louder with every sip of Chekov's devil juice. "You said you have started learning Ferengi?"

But she wasn't even able to answer when Jim nearly shouted again. "One day, imma marry her!"

"Ye'd be so lucky, Cap'n!"

Jim sat suddenly straight, and his face contorted. I was sure he was going to be sick, but instead, he downed the rest of his glass, then slid off the chair and began wobbling and careening over to where Nyota and I sat. "Marry me!" he said and dumped down on the couch next to me. "Will you marry me?"

"Jim," I started, feeling embarrassed now. He was being ridiculous.

"Please, marry me. I love you so much." He then used his shoulder to push against the couch and promptly fell to the floor, banging his knee. Somehow, he shuffled himself onto the other one and looked at me with red shot eyes. "Will you marry me?"

"Jim, you're drunk," I replied.

"You don' wanna marry me?" He sounded like a wounded puppy, and it seemed to wake the rest of the room up.

"Right," Bones said and stood up. "You win, Sulu. I think it's time to call it a night. Help me with Chekov, will you?"

Hikaru nodded, and the two lifted Chekov off the couch, who woke up enough to let Hikaru guide him out of the room. Nyota and Bones persuaded Scotty to come with them, Bones promising him some more fiery alcohol elsewhere.

By the time they had all left, Jim was back on the couch, head on my shoulder and both his hands on my arm. "Marry me..." he mumbled.

"Jim, come on. You're drunk and you're not gonna remember any of this tomorrow. Let's get you to bed."

I stood up and pulled him with me over to the bed. He sat down and let me undress him, sleepy heart eyes on me all the time. My heart was breaking. Yeah, I wanted to marry him. I wanted nothing else than to throw myself at him and scream yes. But he wasn't in his right mind. He'd never hinted at marriage, he always made it clear how happy he was with the way we were right now.

I managed to get him stripped down to his boxers and coaxed him further up the bed. He landed on the pillow, and I pulled the covers over him. "You're sayin' no?"

"I'm not saying anything, Jim. You're stupidly drunk. You're not serious, you can't spout this out of the blue. Should you come up with it again while sober, give it a good think and then try again. But you won't remember any of this tomorrow, so it's fine, Jimmy. It's fine. Now go to sleep. You're gonna need it."

My heart broke even more and as I strode into the bathroom to get myself ready for bed, I couldn't help but cry a bit while staring at my reflection. I finished quickly and crawled into bed next to Jim. I was sure he would be asleep, but I felt him shift and snuggle into my back.

* * *

Next morning, I woke to the sound of groaning. Turning around, I saw Jim sitting up, head in his hands, a string of curses passing over his lips.

"You okay, sweetheart?" I asked, laying a hand on his thigh.

"This is the worst headache I have ever head," he mumbled, his voice hoarse.

"You got pretty hammered last night. Are you gonna be sick?"

He was quiet for a few seconds. "No. Not nauseous at all. But incredibly thirsty and my head hurts and my throat hurts and my knee hurts for some reason."

"Yeah, you fell off the couch," I said, thinking I was right and he didn't remember anything of what he had said and done.

"I need water," he said and rose slowly from the bed and over to the counter where the replicator stood. It whirred to life and filled a glass of ice cold water for him. Next to the replicator was a hypospray that Bones must have left the previous night, and Jim injected himself with it while waiting for the water.

I settled back into my pillow, wanting to fall back asleep and forget all about yesterday.

But Jim soon came back and laid down next to me, propped up on his elbow and looking down at me. He looked better. "I remember everything I said last night."

My heart stopped for a second.

"And it wasn't out of the blue. I have thought about it for a long time, and I meant every word."

I stared incredulously at him, and it just made him grin.

"I had a whole thing planned, you know. But because my drunken self spoiled the surprise, I guess I have to do make up a plan B." He reached for my hand and held it to his lips, kissing the back of my hand. "I love you. I love you more each day and more than I thought possible. I can't – and don't want to – imagine my life without you. The ring is up in our room on the ship, but... Will you marry me?"


End file.
